This is a much-belated post of the amazing outdoor adventure we took back in June for a friend's birthday. We drove up to the beautiful Adirondacks on a Friday evening for 2 nights & 2 days of camping & white water rafting on the Hudson River.
This was my first time white water rafting but, more importantly, it was my first time EVER camping! I didn't have much to worry about the first night since the 11 of us piled into 2 cabins, both complete with a bathroom, a kitchen, and even an air conditioner!...
On the first night, drinks, snacks, and smores were passed around the campfire before we all stumbled to bed...
And then it was the next day and we were up at 7, to start our white water rafting adventure with Wild Waters. It took us a while to get ourselves together. We were doing an overnight rafting trip, which meant we had to stuff all our overnight luggage into a few waterproof bags that would be floated down the river on their own guided boat. Try to watch 11 New Yorkers 'reduce' their 'overnight luggage' into something that would fit into the body-size bags provided. You think you wouldn't need much right?? But somehow we managed to bring bags (and suitcases!) of clothes, snacks, beverages, games, toilet paper, sleeping bags, (and in a few cases pillows & even an air mattress!) It was not pretty. We didn't realize we were meant to pile on a school bus with a few other slightly more prepared groups already waiting! But finally we were outfitted in our vests, helmets & paddles and ready to go! Well almost... after the 30 minute bus ride we had to get the boats & luggage to the water first...this was actually the most physically challenging part of the trip! Those rafts are HEAVY! But it was worth it, once we were on the Hudson surrounded by miles & miles of towering trees...
We were all having a BLAST! Especially the birthday boy, Adam...
And our guides were awesome! John (the brooding-quiet one) Crystal (the chain-smoking drill-sergeant) and Johnny 'Rip-Curl' (the young, adventurous 'Quicksilver'-model type)...
All of our 'posing' in these pics doesn't help to emphasize that all that paddling was hard work! We were only at it for a couple hours before we go to our campsite the first day, and we were already exhausted! I think we had just enough energy to pitch our tents & have lunch (the meals were provided by the company), before we all decided on an afternoon group nap!...
Did I mention we camped RIGHT BY the river?! It was just the 11 of us, our 3 'chaperones' and the surrounding nature for one night. Beautiful...
This was the view from our tent...
We even had a little 'beach' area to hang out at...
And dinner was already being prepared by 6pm. I never knew grilled chicken marinated in bottled Italian dressing could taste so good...
What tastes even better? Hot coffee first thing in the morning!...
And then we took off for the second part of our trip...the journey back...
Where we got to experience some level 3 & 4 rapids...
Do a little swimming...
And some diving!...
And of course, there's always time to end with a group photo!...
(I would highly recommend Wild Waters Outdoor Center for anyone who's interested in this type of trip. Leave a comment below if you'd like more info or have your own summer adventure stories to share...)
Oh also, check out some of my butterfly close-ups from the weekend!
